Rarities in Newport beach

For the first time in a couple weeks, I finally got my butt out of bed, grabbed a coffee, and headed down to Newport Beach to checkout some automotive gatherings. I sure glad I did!

As soon as I arrived in Newport Beach, I was instantly greeted by a flawless Ferrari Enzo... and to start a day, it does not get much more epic than than! I did my walk-around of the Enzo to admire it, then got to work on taking some photographs with my Leica M (typ240) and a Voigtlander 50mm f/1.2 lens.

Now that I think about it, I do not even remember the last time I saw a Ferrari Enzo being driven on the street to a small gathering... which makes this much more special than seeing one in an organized show where vehicles are towed in on flatbeds.

I think it is safe to say, the Enzo was the star of the show (fan favorite) this past weekend. It consistently has the most people around it at any given time.

I decided to peel my eyes away from the Enzo and took a hint from Nathan to gander down to the other end of the parking lot, where two very special cars were parked.

That is right!!! Two RUF's! I first drooled over the RUF CTR "Yellowbird" and Turbo R... then remembered I had a camera to capture these fine specimens... so I started to document the moment. Please enjoy the photographs below!

I had a great time getting out there again (I had a very busy past 2 months). What a great way to kick off August! I cant wait to see what the remainder of this month brings. I am still depressed that Monterey Car Week has been canceled, but I will try to get over it and get my car fix down here in Orange County. Luckily, south OC has incredible cars running around and Malibu has been going grazy the past month or two... I may need to take a trip up north to LA LA Land to see what they have to offer.

To check out the full gallery of photographs, please check out my gallery at the following link: https://davidcoyne.smugmug.com/Car-Shows/Cars-and-Coffee-Events/Newport-Car-Gatherings/Newport-Coast-812020/

Until next time, stay safe my friends!

David Coyne

Morning with a Ferrari F355 Berlinetta

A few weeks back, I was able to spend the morning with my buddy Saif and his Ferrari F355 Berlinetta!

Wake up call was at 5:30am on a Saturday. I decided the night before to use my Leica M (typ240) equipped with a Voigtlander 50mm f/1.2 for the entire photo shoot. No other camera, no other lenses. I wanted to travel light, which is the perfect formula for using the Leica.

I met Saif early in the morning so we could get the best light as possible (and also this was the only time we both had that day). He warmed up the F355’s V8 engine and gearbox, then we made our way to Santiago Canyon to take some photographs.

As we were making our way to the canyon, it was foggy and dark, which I not to worried about, which would have made for some moody photographs which would have been cool. As we crested over the 241, the cloud cover and fog quickly dissipated to reveal the newly green(ish) landscape.

We chose a road that heads into the infamous Black Star Canyon in Southern California. There have been many stories of people going there at night and seeing some strange things... Not during the day though. Blackstar Canyon is very popular for hiking and trail riding, and has some amazing scenery.

We stopped at an area to pull over to get a few photographs with the red rock cliffs in the background, along with some detail shots of his F355.

After firing off a few photographs, it was time to head back to the house and hit up one more location. On the way over, Saif stretched the legs of the F355 a little, and oh man, the sound of that V8 is pure glory! There really is nothing like driving (or riding in my case) in an older Ferrari. The rawness of this car is just fantastic, and it makes all the right noises.

As we got closer to the second location, we dove back into the fog layer which was fantastic. I really wanted to get a few shots of the pop-up lights, which was a huge deal to me. I can't even name a modern supercar with pop-up headlights... they are so unique to that time in automotive history.

Once pulled over, Saif positioned the Ferrari, popped up those awesome headlights, turned the wheels slightly, and then I snapped away grabbing photos of the front and the rear end.

Using the Leica for this quick little shoot was incredible. I was able to move around quickly and the ease of not having any supporting gear was a relief. It sure was nice not having to move around a tripod or lights (even though I mainly shoot natural light).

From there, we went across the street, where there was a bridge over the 241 and decided to take a few photos there as well. I tried to move quickly so we would not be in anyone's way. I think I ended up taking 4 or 5 photos, then we were on our way back to the house.

Overall, it was a fun little photo shoot and always have a great time hanging out with Saif.

The full photo gallery is located on my SmugMug account, which is linked here: https://davidcoyne.smugmug.com/Automotive-Photoshoots/Ferrari-F355-Berlinetta-Gallery-81-Motorcars/

I am looking to do more blog posts in the future of photoshoots and weekend car shows, as it helps give my work some purpose. I want to get better at telling stories, written and photographically... so I though blog posts on my website would be the best possible way to do that. I have never been the best writer, but I am looking forward to improving this skill as I continue on.

Thank you for taking the time to read and view this post, it is greatly appreciated!

Monterey Car Week 2019 Recap

Monterey Car Week is one of my favorite weeks of the year (obviously). It is a time that all automotive enthusiasts dream of... one location filled with automotive enthusiasts of all kinds. My favorite part about car week is having the ability to go camp out almost anywhere in Monterey and being able to see some of the most insane vehicles ever built being driven around like it is no big deal. I also enjoy the concept car photo shoots that take place along the stunning 17-Mile-Drive in Pebble Beach. The scenery is so unique and there is no other coastline in the world that is like it.

For you tech heads out there, I shot most of car week on my Leica M (typ) 240, equipped with either a 50mm f/1.2 Voigtlander or 35mm f/1.7 Voigtlander lens. For the remaining photographs, I used my Canon 5d Mkiii with a 24-70 f/2.8 or 70-200mm lens.

It is funny, at Car Week, I always panic the first day thinking I need to find some cool shit within the first 4 hours or car week and almost always see something insane by nightfall. So there I was, driving away from my hotel stressing out on where to find all the best stuff (first world problems, I know....). Low and behold, the awesome experience I run across is the Bentley EXP 100 GT electric concept car... gosh dang, this was amazing to see out with stunning scenery and not in a studio or auto show.

My favorite show to attend every year is none other than The Quail. This, to me, is by far the best show of the week. Amazing vehicles, food, reveals, and much more! It is fantastic that Lamborghini and Bugatti do new car reveals every year at The Quail. This year, Bugatti revealed the the Bugatti Centodieci, which is a limited run mid-engine sports car. The Centodieci pays homage to the Bugatti EB110 to celebrate it 110th anniversary. The Centodieci is 20kg lighter than the Bugatti Chiron, and has a 8,000 cc quad-turbocharged W16 engine, producing 1,578 hp at 7000 rpm (Photos below).

Last but not lease, Pebble Beach Concours de'Elegance is the prime show of the week. For me, this is the end of Car Week. I did not do dawn patrol this year (because I am lazy and was going to drive back home down highway 1), but still arrived to the show around 7am which was plenty early for me. I usually try to get photographs of the cars, and the cars only. I usually never take photographs of people, but made a point to do it this year. All I can say is that I really enjoyed taking photos of people at the event and am kind of addicted to it. Moving forward, I think I am going to try and take more shots with people in them. I do love getting the reactions of enthusiasts spectating the cars.

Anyways, please see below for the recap gallery for Monterey Car Week! I will be releasing full galleries from each event and from car spotting on my newly created SmugMug account (which I will have linked on my website as "Galleries" on the top search bar. For there, you can view full size photos, and even purchase prints of any photo that I upload there. And as always, you can purchase prints from my Redbubble account which is linked under "Prints" on the search bar.

I have also released some new cell phone wallpapers from Car Week, so make sure to check them out!!! (I know you all go crazy for free stuff ;))

Anyways, please enjoy the gallery and leave a comment or reach out if you have any questions!

- David Coyne